King David had it all: the prestige of his office and the power to do as he wished. The undisciplined possession of those two things is a deadly combination if they are not submitted daily to God. The repeated misuse of prestige and power has been revealed since time began.

When the prophet Nathan confronted David for his sexual sin with Bathsheba, Nathan’s words broke David. At that moment, he realized the depths of his sin. His prestige and power had blinded him. David cried out to God and prayed, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51: 12). The word “willing” has been translated as “to be inclined.” The power and prestige of David had moved him away from obedience to God and inclined him to be willing to commit the worst of sins.

The undisciplined influence of his prestige and power and its resulting sin robbed David of his joy. He became a man willing to use his power and prestige to commit adultery with Bathsheba and arrange to have her husband, Uriah, put to death in an attempt to cover up his sin. He became vulnerable to sin because he was moving under the joyless influence of his flesh, not the Spirit.

In his broken state, David said, “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart” (vs. 17). To be broken in this verse means to be broken into so many pieces that only God can reassemble our broken lives if we are willing to openly repent of our sin. 

None of us can carry the prestige and power of our position in life without the presence of humility because, without humility, those two things will eventually destroy us. Only when our prestige and power are held at arm’s length and not used to give us license to sin, can they be rightly possessed and used for God’s glory.